Ayani
by Erantera109
Summary: What exactly happened in Somalia? How did Ayani feel about this? As short story from Ayani's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

I was looking around for stories on Ayani's past and found none. My motto is don't write it if it's already been done, and this hasn't. I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter One**

My soldier is out there somewhere in this dying fight for everything that we still believe in. If this war is not won, our very minds, our last seemingly impenetrable defence and place of refuge will be lost.

It was so long ago that the world had even tried to stop the monsters who slaughtered children because they were born to a specific race, even when we had all promised that we would never allow it to happen again. Something about the loss of our minds - even too the wickedest of people - has brought some back to their senses. Needless to say, just because they hold weapons in their arms to fight, does not make them any less evil.

Lucas, my son, is half-aware of this. Even as the city is taken under the control of our enemies, Lucas still believes there is a deep dividing line in between the "good" guys and the "bad" guys. In some ways, it's a good thing that he doesn't know this yet. It keeps his small shred of innocence intact.

If there's one thing anyone would need to know about Lucas, it's this: Lucas doesn't trust anyone. He's a one-man show. I suppose he gets that from his father. They both believe that their duty is to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. That their problems are no one else's problems. Both had most of their innocence taken away from them at a very young age. It's that lack of innocence, that gaping hole somewhere within themselves, that makes them so reserved.

This is why I don't want Lucas to know about the evils in this world - not yet. He's far too closed in now. Far too angry at the world.

"Mother?" I am pulled out of my thoughts to attend to my son.

"Yes Lucas," I reply.

"Do you think they're going to kill us?" Lucas asked.

It was such an innocent question that I was taken aback.

"Who?" I ask, hoping that I won't have to find and answer for Lucas.

"The people who have taken the city, will they kill us?" Lucas asked again.

"Not if your father gets here in time." I reply.

This is what I keep telling myself, if my soldier comes in time, he will rescue us - all of us.

"Do you really believe all that..." I knew he was going to cuss. It's a terrible habit he caught from Nathaniel. I have always appreciated the power of a mother's warning glare.

"As long as I can, I will." I tell him.

I don't tell him that my reasons for believing this are for myself. My soldier is the only thing aside for Lucas that's still worth living for on this planet. In a way, they're my hope, my raison d'être.

"How long is that?" Lucas questioned.

"To my death, dear Lucas." I tell him. "To my death."

**Author's note:**

Let's have a contest, whoever comes up with the best name for this chapter gets to name it. How does that sound?


	2. Chapter 2

It is the second day in which the city has been captured. Some people have already lost hope, others have gone mad. Lucas stares with contempt at the man who is in charge of this whole disaster. If looks could kill, he would be dead. Unfortunately, looks can't kill (or fortunately because I have faced that angry glare more than once).

"Lucas, give it a break." I beg him. Lucas turns around to face me, with the sour expression still lingering on his face.

"I can't give it a break." Lucas shouted.

"Calm down Lucas." I urge him. Even though I feel like doing exactly what Lucas is doing, I know I need to remain calm. I need to stay strong for my soldier and Lucas. Especially Lucas, every family only needs one madman, and this one already has Nathaniel. As long as I can, I want to keep Lucas from going insane, even at my own expense.

"I will not 'calm down' as you say. Do you know what they did today? They took five students out of our class and took the to the kindergarten class. Then they told them that they had to kill everyone in the class except for five people. After they were done, they killed the five remaining kindergarten students and left. Out of the five, three committed suicide on the spot and the other two went mad. They killed _kindergarten__students__._ These were the best most well respected students in our class.

"I can't calm down. Every fiber of my being hates these people, and this is only the first day that they're here. How much longer until the force the whole lot of us to become monsters?" Lucas cried.

I try to place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he moves it away.

"Lucas, I know things are difficult. It's in times like these that we can't give up hope." I tell him. "Anytime now, and your father will come to rescue us."

"And when will that be - when dinosaurs walk the earth again?" Lucas asks.

"He's probably waiting for the best moment to come in. A time where he can save the most amount of people." I tell Lucas as well as myself. This was the only reason I could come up with that didn't depress me. I understood just as much as Lucas did about my soldier's decisions at the moment, and that was to say that I didn't understand them at all.

"Well, if he waits for much longer there won't be anyone to rescue." Lucas decided.

I don't want to hear these words, no matter how true they really are.

"Do you want to play a game of chess?" I ask.

"Chess? How can you want to play a game of chess?" He gawks.

"I need something to get my mind off all of this." I admit. This reason seemed to be satisfactory for Lucas, as he immediately begins to set up the chess board.

"White or black?" He asks.

"The usual." I reply.

"I still don't understand why you like black so much." Lucas says as he continues to set up the chess set.

"When I was younger, my older brother always wanted to be white. I guess you can say that I'm used to it." I reply.

"That's hardly a good excuse, how do you know that you aren't better at white?" Lucas questions me.

"I've played white before, I didn't like it." I tell Lucas.

"Okay," Lucas says, then he adds, "Just don't go easy on me."

"Whoever said that I would go easy on you?" I ask.

"No one, it's just that you always do." Lucas tells me.

So, Lucas has finally seen through that trick. Somehow, I'm surprised that he hadn't pointed it out earlier. I disregard the idea and commence the game of chess.

"That a classic opening move," I comment, "One that your father always liked to use."

"Can you stop talking as though he was dead or something and get on with the game?" He asks. I nod and smile.

This is the Lucas I prefer, the Lucas that I wish he was all the time. He's hardly ever like this. If this is in reality the last few moments I get to spend with him, this is how I would like to use them.

Don't lose hope yet Ayani, I tell myself. Somehow, I feel that if I continue just hoping that my soldier will turn up, I might just waste away with everyone else in the city. Maybe Lucas is right, maybe my soldier may never come. Immediately, I promise myself that I will never let Lucas have the satisfaction of knowing that he's gotten to me.

"Check." Lucas tells me while breaking my train of thought. I smile knowingly and take out the bishop that is threatening the king with the queen.

"Never underestimate a pawn." Lucas tells me as he takes my queen with his pawn.

"Yes Lucas, never do." I tell him while taking out his queen with my pawn. "Check." I add.

"Don't overestimate them either," he says after taking my pawn. "Check."

"I think that's checkmate," I correct him. Lucas smiles as he realizes that he beat me.

"You weren't going easy on me, were you?"

"Not for a second." I reply.

Lucas smiled wider and I don't regret lying to Lucas. In all honesty, I don't think I could ever force myself to go at my full strength against him. Not when I can still make him smile. At this point in time in my life, that's all I want too do - to make Lucas smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It is the third day that these brainwashing maniacs have taken over the city. I am surprised at the amount of damage that they have managed to do in these three short days. Lucas hasn't smiled since our game of chess. I don't blame him, in fact, I think that may be the last time I smiled as well.

Almost everyone's faces are tear-stained and eyes are bloodshot. Hardly anyone leaves their houses now for fear of becoming the next subjects in their twisted experiments. No one comes back from those alive and unscathed.

There have been stories coming around about the lineups on the roofs. Fights over ammunition. Unsavoury things that no one wanted to eat before have become much more appealing in the eyes of some. None of these events are attempts to fight back. They're just pitiful ways to lose, to drive themselves into the ground.

If I could, I'd be leading a rebellion right now. The last time I tried to leave the house, I found myself standing thirty centimeters away from a gun. I knew it was loaded. After all, what else would have put a dent in those airtight doors of steel? I'm not sure if it's just cruel fate that I had enough sense to slam the door on them or if it's a promise of hope. All I know is that I'm alive and Lucas is too.

I sat in my chair with a vacant expression, not even wanting to do anything. I felt sick. As though it would have been best if I was leaning over a toilet instead of just sitting here. No child should see their parents with the same blank face that I was displaying. Yet there was Lucas, studying me with the same blue eyes that belong to my soldier. I dare not say that I notice the resemblance, as the seconds are ticking on, Lucas's anger towards his father is growing.

"Mom," Lucas started. His countenance was so full of expression that it woke me up from the stupefied state I had been in. "Dad is in Somalia, fighting off more of these monsters. He's not going to rescue us." The statement hit me hard, like a slap in the face. My face burned with the impact. It stung so much that tears fell from my eyes.

Lucas must have seen this as an opening as he continued with his speech. "They're going to wait until we all kill ourselves or become so wasted that we'll be their puppets to control. We need to escape. You need to stop waiting for your prince charming. He's not coming."

"What do you suggest?" I asked.

"That we get ourselves captured - alive." Lucas suggested.

"What?" I gawked. All this time we had been attempting to avoid capture. To not fall into the hands of the maineiacs.

"When we get captured, we need to make it very clear that we are the family of Nathaniel Taylor. They'll take us to someplace where he can save us. To taunt and gload. Then you can have your knight in shining armour come and rescue us." The idea made perfect sense. It only took me a few seconds to piece it together. If we wanted to get captured it would be so easy. They were literally rounding up whole groups of people off the streets and shipping them off to wherever they fancied.

"I prefer my knight in a shiny bullet-proof vest." I whispered. Lucas laughed a little at this.

"Now, stop crying." Lucas insisted. I smiled and tried to do as he bade me. "We have to get captured."


End file.
